Independence couple arrested in death of 2-year-old girl

Noelle Watkins, 2, died after she was found unconscious in a bath tub. Her parents have been charged with manslaughter in connection with her death.(Photo: Michelle LaRont / Special to the Statesman Journal)

Months after an Independence 2-year-old was found unconscious in a bath tub, the girl's parents have been charged with manslaughter in connection with the toddler's death.

Independence Police confirmed Friday that 26-year-old Rebecca Watkins and 26-year-old Codey Campbell were both arrested Thursday on charges of manslaughter in both the first and second degrees, endangering the welfare of a minor and child neglect.

Independence Police responded to Watkins' home after 6 p.m. on Feb. 24 to find her 2-year-old daughter, Noelle Watkins, unconscious in the tub.

Later that evening, Noelle was pronounced dead.

Police spent months investigating the circumstances of her death. On Wednesday, they presented their findings — including interviews, crime lab results and the report from the medical examiner — to a Grand Jury. The jury subsequently issued an indictment against Watkins and Campbell, charging them with Noelle's death.

Police didn't specify what, exactly, they discovered in the course of their investigation that led to the charges.

Watkins and Campbell were officially arraigned on those charges in Polk County Circuit Court Friday afternoon. Both were in custody at the Polk County Jail, where bail for each of them has been set at $165,000.

Codey Campbell(Photo: Courtesy of the Polk County Jail)

Michelle LaRont, a family relative, said she had long been concerned about the welfare of Noelle and a half-sister who lived in the same household. LaRont said another family member who visited the house would realize Noelle was in the bathtub alone.

"She would hear down the hall, you couldn't see down but she would hear a baby splashing and she would say to Becky, 'Is Noelle in the bath tub?'" LaRont said. "And she'd say, 'Yeah, she's fine.'"

LaRont, who didn't have a personal relationship with Noelle but saw the child occasionally, said she wanted to see justice for the toddler.

"I feel like baby Noelle's life wasn't in vain, although she only lived two years," she said.